SAN JOSE, calif. — It could turn out that Ryan O’Reilly and the Avalanche will suddenly find ground common and put this nastiness behind them and enjoy a beautiful future together. Or it could be O’Reilly has played his last game in an Avalanche uniform, that the differences between him and the team are worse than the end of Kim Kardashian’s and Kris Humphries’ marriage.

As hard as it is to believe, Avalanche fans need to start contemplating what a future without O’Reilly, a popular two-way center, would be like. O’Reilly and the Avs remain far apart — about $8 million apart — in negotiations on a long-term contract. It’s increasingly difficult to see how this has a happy ending.

There still may be hope for a shorter “bridge” deal, especially now that O’Reilly has departed — at least for now — the Kontinental Hockey League and is without a contract. But the vast difference of opinion between the sides on his long-term value has made negotiations toward a one-, two- or three-year bridge deal more difficult. The Avs have a two-year, $7 million offer on the table.

O’Reilly, 21, was the team’s leading scorer last season with 55 points.

While his agent, Mark Guy, has disputed that O’Reilly wants the same amount ($5 million per year) on a shorter deal compared to a long-term contract, there’s no doubt O’Reilly wants at least $4 million per year.

With a much smaller difference on a shorter deal, many Avalanche fans are frustrated at the team’s inability to get O’Reilly signed. Why can’t the Avs come up a little from $3.5 million per year to $4 million or perhaps $4.5 million? They have the salary cap room, nearly $18 million.

Why, then, is there no deal? Because the Avs are stubborn, that’s why. Once the Avs get it in their heads what a player is worth, they often display a “take it or leave it” mentality. And they can be vindictive about it. A lot of players in Avalanche history — Chris Simon, Valeri Kamensky, Sandis Ozolinsh, Chris Drury, Scott Young, Matt Hendricks, Alex Tanguay, Peter Mueller and others — found themselves packing after they fought for money beyond what the team thought they were worth.

The Avs don’t want to trade O’Reilly and insist that they won’t. But I’ve seen too many players get shipped out of town after they butted heads with management over money. I have to believe the Avs will trade O’Reilly if the stalemate drags on.

Question is: Do you trade him in this lockout-shortened season or let him sit out the season and take your time making a deal during the summer? That’s a tough call. The Avs no doubt could get something good for O’Reilly this season and use it to their advantage in a playoff push. But what are you really going to get in terms of proven players at this time of the year?

But do you really want to let O’Reilly sit and get absolutely no value from him the entire season? How’s that going to go over with lockout-burned fans being asked to pay good money on tickets to see a team that claims it wants to put the best product it can on the ice?

The best solution? Find a way to get something done and keep O’Reilly here. I’ve talked to enough players, coaches and scouts in the NHL in the past year to know O’Reilly is highly regarded. The prevailing sentiment I get is: “Why would they ever want to let that kid go?”

When I saw the Wisconsin Badgers play a couple of times last year in person, it didn’t take long to become impressed with Schultz. I liked the defenseman’s speed and his presence at both ends of the ice. Turns out, a lot of people in hockey much smarter than me liked him too, and when Schultz spurned signing with the NHL team that owned his rights — Anaheim — after the Badgers were eliminated from the NCAA playoffs, a bidding war broke out for his free-agent services.

The Edmonton Oilers, a lottery team the past three years, become the unlikely winners. Schultz said he wanted to play for a Western Canada team, but most pundits took that to mean the perennial playoff power Vancouver Canucks. But Schultz saw a team, Edmonton, with a lot of potential future stars just like him, and signed on with the Oilers.

It may not be what Avalanche fans wanted — a top young prospect going to another team in the Northwest Division — but it was a refreshing change to see a player choose a small-market team. Edmonton is a city that’s taken some shots to its reputation in recent years as an un- desirable outpost — remember when Chris Pronger wanted out? So it was nice to see Edmonton get a civic boost like that.

The Avs get their first opportunity to see Schultz in Monday night’s game against the Oilers in Edmonton.

There’s a reason teams fought for this guy. Along with youngsters Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov, Schultz figures to keep the Oilers strong for many years to come.

More in Sports

Broncos general manager John Elway was reminded of the nice weather, of the fun memories he had some 13 miles west in Palo Alto in college and of course the ones he experienced here in Santa Clara back in 2016.

A tangled mess at Coors Field unraveled early Thursday afternoon as rookie right-hander Jeff Hoffman craned his neck to see home run after home run leave the yard. Before the end, it devolved into a dilemma.